Appliance and method for heading barrels



Feb. 23, 1932. WARNCKE 1,846,773

APPLIANCE AND METHOD FOR HEADING'BARRELS Filed Mafch 28, 1929 Patented Feb. 23, 1932 PATENT, LoFFIc-E GEORGE L. WARNCKE, or CANNONDALE, connnorrcor APPLIANCE AND METHOD ron HEAJJING-CBARRELS Application filed March 28, 1929. Serial No. 350,717.

' This invention relates to a device for headingbarrels, and has for an object to provide an improved device to facilitate the placing and securing of the heads of barrels in position.

'At the present time common practice in heading barrels, for example barrels filled with fruit such as apples, is to force the head down over the chime and into position with its edges in the groove on the inner surface of the staves so that the tapered edge of the headseats in this groove. In this method considerable work is required to force the head into position, and the operation is edges of the head.

It is therefore another object of my invention to provide a device in which this operation with the consequent danger of 90 bruising the fruit and breaking the edges of the head is done away with.

It is still another object of my invention to provide a simple and'effective device for heading barrels which may be manufactured at low. cost and which. will greatly reduce the time and labor required in headingbarrels.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists'in certain novel features of construction, combinations, and arrangement of parts as will be more fully disclosed in connection with the accompanying drawings.

. In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the barrel showing the method of using myimproved device.

Fig. 2 is a top plan-view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section ofthe upper portion of the barrel on a somewhat larger scale.

Fig. 4 is a front view on an enlarged scale of the operating lever and associated elements in the released position, with the clamping band expanded.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view thereof and showing in the dotted lines their relative positions with the band contracted.

Fig. 6 is adetail front view of a link connection between the lever and the band.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the lever, and

:15 also liable to bruise the fruit and break the plan view of the loop at one end ing staves 11 which are held together by any a desired number of hoops 12, 13 and 14, composed-of strips of wood or flat iron bands. As indicated above a common method of securing the head 15 in position is to forceit clown-between the staves without removing the hoops, or at least removing only the top hoop, until the edge 16 of the head sinks in the groove 17 in the inner surfaces of the staves. This involves considerable work and also care on the part of the operator, and even then is liable to bruise the fruit in the barrel and break the head. I have overcome these objections by my improved method, and improved device. In this method two top hoops 13 and 14, or more if a greater number of hoops are used, are removed permitting the upper ends of the staves to separate and spread outwardly somewhat as indicated in dotted lines of Fig. 3, sufliciently to permit the head 15 to be placed in alignment with the groove 17 without forcing it over the rib 18 at the top of this groove. v a

My improved clamping device is placed on the barrel to embrace these staves either before or after the hoops 13 and 14 are removed,

whichever is found the most convenient or desirable. This. improved device is illustrated in the drawings comprising a flat flexible metal band 19 to one endof which is pivotedly connected a hand lever 20. A convenient and effective means for. connecting the two is to fold over the end of the band upon its-elf and secure the free end by rivets or other suitable means 21 to form a loop 22. One end of the lever is forked as shown at 23 to embrace the loop and is securedthereto by pivot pin 24:, passing throughthe loop and the opposite sides of the fork and may be securedtherein by the cotter pins 25. The lever is also connected to the opposite end of theband by a link connection comprising a link or bracket 26 and a rod 27. The opposite end of the band is provided with a similar loop 28,- and one end of the rod is forked as shown at 29 to'embrace'this loop and is pivotedly connected thereto by the pin 30. I The other end of the rod is threaded as shown at 31 for engagement with a tapped opening 32 in one end of the link 26. The other end of this link is forked and pivotedly connected tothe lever 20 by pin 33 at a point spaced outwardly from the pivot 2A.

It will thus be seen that with this construction the band 19 may be expanded or contracted by swinging the lever 20 about its pivot 24. Thus with the elements in the position as shown in full lines in Figs. 4L and 5 the band is expanded and may be slipped down onto the outside of the barrel over the hoops 13 and 14c or onto the barrel after the staves havebeen permitted to shift outwardly to the dotted positions of Fig. 3. After the head 15 of the barrel has been placed in position, by swinging the lever 20 to the left, the two ends of the band 19 are drawn toward 7 each other to tightly clamp the-band about the staves of the barrel,and draw themtoward each other and inwardly to press them against the edges of the head 15 with these edges of the head in the grooves 17. The pivots 24, 30 and 33 are so locatedand the members 26 and 2 7 are bent somewhat so that the lever when swung over to its extreme position willcarry the pivot 33 slightly beyond the line joining the centers of the pivots 24 and 30. Thus the band will be tightly clamped about the barrel to hold the staves tightly compressed together and against the head without the necessity of holding the'lever. The hands of the operator are now free for replacing and driving the two hoops 13 and 14 back into position over the staves. These two hoopsmay be driven separately or together thus reducing the liability of breaking these hoops in this operation. After the hoops are driven into. position they may be nailed and the head maybe also nailed either before or after driving the hoops, depending on whether iron or wooden hoops are used. After the hoops are secured the lever 20 may be swung outwardly or to the right, thus expanding the band 19 and permitting its easy removal from the barrel and permitting its use for the next heading operation. The threaded con nection between the rod 27 and the link 26 permits adjustment between these elements so that the size of the device may be adjusted for proper operation on the barrels. After the proper adjustment has been secured it may be retained by a lock nut 34. I

It willbe apparent from the foregoing description that this device is of a strong and simple construction and thatqthe operv ator can compress the staves andhold them in proper position while nailing the head and applying the permanent hoops with little effort. It also'greatly increases the. speed at which the barrels may be headed, and with less effort on the part of the operator. It thussaves time and labor and decreases the cost of the heading operation. It also more evenly distributes the pressure on the contents of the barrel. It allows the staves to spread sidewards and outwardly to permit easy insertion of the head in position. It greatly reduces the breakage of heads and hoops over the old method of forcing the heads into place. It also has the advantage of pulling a barrel that has become out of shape back to its original shape to fit the head and hold it until the head is nailed and the hoops are properly placed permitting a better fitting'and placing of the hoops. Still further it enables the proper placing of the head and barrels where the staves have become warped, as. it permits, the removal o the upper hoops and the preading out of the staves before, the head is inserted and the staves are then forcedback into. proper position by this device. As the device may be easily removed the; barrel can be easily nailed without hindrance from the clamping device. v 1

Having thus set forth the nature of; myin vention, what I claim is In; a device for heading barrels, a flexible band of asizeto embracethe; staves of; a bare rel adjacent the end to be headed, a lever pivoted at one end to one end of the band,

av rod pivoted at one end to. the other end of the band, a link at one end pivoted to the lever at a, point spaced from the pivotal connection between the leverand band, said rod and link having. their other ends. threadedly connected for adjustment, said link; having its pivoted end portion off-set, said rod hav-- ing its pivoted end portion elf-setin the same direction as the. off-set in the link, the off-set in the link being fora distance slightly greater than the width of the lever, the link at, said off-setv end being bifurcated and; straddling the lever, and the band pivots and the. pivotal connection between the link and lever being so arranged and disposed that the connection of the lever and link passes inwardly toward'the barrel beyond the line joining the centers of the band pivots with the pivoted end of the lever disposed under the intermediate outwardly disposed portion of the link and between the offset end portions of the link and root.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. GEORGE L. WARNCKE'. 

